Re: To sleep in bed, or not to sleep in bed.

we crate trained our guys from day one, I guess it was easier as we have 2 of them. They like their crates, and have no problem going in them. They are out for most of the day, as there is always someone home, whether it be me, my husband, or my son. We crate them when we are sleeping, or when we are out. The rest of the time they snuggle with us and have free rein. I did let them cuddle on our bed when they were really little, and Dozer slept with me for 2 nights when I first brought him home and he hurt his back paw from a fall. I let him sleep with me because I couldnt take him to the vet until the next morning. He shed so much hair in my bed, that we were itchy, so we leave them in the crate. We have our cuddle time on the couch all the time. If you have transitioned him to sleep in a crate without any issues, then I would continue to let him sleep in the crate, otherwise he will get used to the bed again, and you will have problems putting him back in the crate, and he's only going to get bigger, and then it will be harder. Good luck, stay strong, He will be fine in the crate, it is a safe place for him, and you don't want him to re injure his leg.

Last edited by Vikinggirl; 12-26-2012 at 10:39 PM.

LEARN A LESSON FROM YOUR DOG, NO MATTER WHAT LIFE BRINGS YOU, KICK SOME GRASS OVER THAT AND MOVE ON.

Re: To sleep in bed, or not to sleep in bed.

We used to let the dogs sleep in the bed the it just became too much to handle. We have a queen size bed but we would still wake up with a dog laying on top of us or snoring so loud that we woke up lol. Now the dogs sleep on the living room, we keep a child's gate in front of our door with the door open, this way we can hear them (for the most part) and if they need to go potty or whatever then they can come up to the gate and let us know. I am willing to let them sleep in the room, but since they were allowed on the bed before I just fear that they will think its okay to jump up there in the middle of the night. Oh, but of one of them is sick then they are allowed to sleep in the room so we can monitor them more closely. Plus, now we don't have to change our sheets everyday! Ha it's nice to have ONE place in the house that isn't covered in hair lol. I swear, I could vacuum every hour and our house would still hair have everywhere! Lol I still want a third dog though

Re: To sleep in bed, or not to sleep in bed.

Originally Posted by Dee J

Just last Thursday I picked up Brutus and let him fall asleep on the couch while I was watching TV, and then again later while I was in the recliner..... of course he loved it! Before I always sat or layed on the ground after his leg injury. Now that he has been up once, he wants up ALL the time lol Saturday I was watching TV in bed, and he even put his front paws on the side of the bed..... of course I had to let him up, he went straight to sleep [replacer_img] I think for now, we will do it on special occasions, or just during the day when we AREN'T sleeping so we can wathc out after him.

@Dubbiedog - So glad you had Dublin in bed with you, I call that a parent's instinct! I'm sure once Brutus gets older he will be back up in the bed, I fail at saying no to cuddle time!

Yes, I know for sure she wouldnt' be with us today if I hadn't made that call after her surgery. Now of course it is a "forever" thing and she is a "bear" to sleep with, if she not spreading herself out all over the place then she is practically stuck to you for some heat. Now that we have our rescue Tio we had to decide how that would work. Even though we have a King sized bed ( my husband is a big guy) we just dont' have room for all four of us. Tio is not fully housetrained so he has been in his crate until just this week. He cries bitterly in the middle of the night. His "other life" was in a hoarding situation so he was never alone. I decided to see if he could get through the night in his bed by our bed. Of course he sees Dublin on our bed and that does break my heart but now we have a little routine where they go out to potty and both of them head to the bed and each gets a treat. He does look at me pityfully from his bed on the floor but then he settles down and goes right to sleep. He can see me from where he is so I think that makes him feel better. Fingers crossed, he stays put and not accidents so far. He is totally thriving though we some persistant medical issues we are dealing with and a still jealous sister.

Re: To sleep in bed, or not to sleep in bed.

Lola got spayed yesterday and I tried to get her to sleep in my bed last night so I could watch her and know if she was in pain and she hated it! She would not settle down and kept walking over to her crate so we put her in it and she settled down right away. So decide early to let him sleep in bed or crate train because once they are grown and trained it would be hard to change!

Re: To sleep in bed, or not to sleep in bed.

Max was 4 months old when we realized he was deaf, the same week we found out he had hip displaysia. Into the bed he went, BIGGEST MISTAKE!!!. He now weighs 75lbs. and thinks he owns the bed. I sweat every night because he needs to spoon with me. Maybe if we had a king size bed but, we don't. I tried once to get him to sleep in his bed in bedroom, it didn't work. He cried and & cried (I'm weak, I caved). Also, jumping on and off the bed is not good. I have steps but when he gets randy, he jumps.
Good luck!

Re: To sleep in bed, or not to sleep in bed.

Originally Posted by Dubbiedog

I think this is a personal decision and for me it saved Dublin's life, literally. She had slept in her crate in our bedroom until she had her first palate and nasal surgery. She was very very sick after due to intense swelling in her throat. I decided that I wanted her on the bed so I could keep an eye on her. Of course i was on edge so I slept on and off during the night. At one point I woke up to no sound or movement at my feet. I jumped up so fast and there was Dublin, not breathing with her tongue hanging out of her mouth swollen and purple. I grabbed her and shook her, and massaged her. I was terrified and I think my husband thought the house was on fire. I finally got her to take a huge gasp and to begin breathing. She was on big pain killers which probably slowed her breathing down more, so that along with the swelling and he already tiny trachea taking a breath was more than she could do. Needless to say I didn't sleep for the rest of the night. the vet said that if she hadn't been on the bed and me being so aware of her movements or lack thereof he was sure she wouldn't have made it through the night. So guess, who continues to sleep on our bed???? She had to have another palate and nasal surgery and it again was rough but she is a tough cookie. We have no problem sharing our bed with our sweetie pie....

I never let my dogs sleep with me (my other dogs were 140 pounds each) but knowing that Mabel may be having that surgery, I don't think I'll sleep much if she does after reading your post. That is really frightening.